Continuous learning in design - DEI

The role of Continuous learning in design - Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

I’ve been reflecting on the role of continuous learning in design.

As designers, we speak often about empathy.
We say we design for people — for how they live, feel, gather, and move through spaces.

But true empathy requires more than intuition.
It requires awareness.

I’ve been spending time understanding DEI beyond the acronym we use so casually — and it has shifted the way I look at design and people.

Once you go deeper, you notice how much of decision-making is shaped by unconscious bias.
The subtle assumptions that quietly influence:

• how we read a client
• whose ideas we take seriously
• which cultural lenses we default to
• what we define as “good taste”
• which lifestyles we unconsciously centre

These patterns don’t always show up loudly.
They reveal themselves in the mood boards we curate, the stories we emphasise, the references we privilege.

Having lived and worked across India, Singapore, and now Australia, I understand how layered cultural perspectives can be.
And yet, there is always more to unlearn and expand.

For me, continuous learning isn’t about collecting certificates.
It’s about deepening my emotional and cultural lens so I can design with genuine empathy — and minimise unconscious bias as consciously as possible.

Design, at its core, is about people.
To honour that, we must keep evolving — within ourselves first.